Tesla executive Schwall leaves for Alphabet's Waymo: WSJ

(Reuters) - Tesla Inc’s main technical contact with U.S. safety investigators, Matthew Schwall, has left the electric carmaker for Alphabet Inc’s self-driving unit Waymo, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday, citing people familiar the decision.

Schwall, the director of field performance engineering at Tesla, exited the company as the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has been investigating multiple crashes involving the electric vehicles, the newspaper reported.

The former Tesla executive began at Waymo last Monday, where he joined the company’s safety team led by former National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Deputy Administrator Ron Medford, WSJ said.

Schwall will work on a variety of self-driving car safety issues in his new role, according to the Journal.

Tesla and Waymo did not immediately respond to emailed requests for comment on Sunday.

On Wednesday, the NTSB said it will investigate a Tesla accident in Fort Lauderdale, Florida that killed two teenagers and injured another - the agency’s fourth active probe into crashes of the company’s electric vehicles.